Integration of
Individuals with Limited Abilities need Effective Legal and Humane Support

Dr. Tatjana (Marjana) Çadri

Principal of the Institution
of Visually Impaired Students

Rr Dibres

Tiranë

Albania

Tel +3554377309

e-mail ramatinaa@adanet.net

Everyone who comes to this world is entitled to live the life
with dignity, despite the fact that he may be completely capable or with
limited abilities. Being a reality of society, the individuals with limited
abilities have in common the need to be helped, in order to break the framework
of their own social isolation.

These stigmatized groups, even though not without
difficulty, attach more and more to the other part of society. The society
itself accepts to provide them with more space and opportunity for integration
in the normal life, for the protection of their rights and equality before law.
And, yet, neither party involved in this process, feels completely satisfied
with what has been achieved.

We are going to make two principal issues as object to this
paper:

a)
The factors that impede the integration of visually impaired
individuals

b)
The legal and humane support on function to this integration

But which are some of
the principal factors that impede the social integration of visually impaired
individuals: mentality, sense of inferiority of the visually impaired
themselves, economic conditions, educational and cultural level, or the social
system?

Without any doubt,
each of these factors has its own influence. One of them is the mentality of
the parents in not making the blindness of their own child public, which is
associated, in most cases, with unrecoverable results. So, from the
declarations of the directors of different centers, this results in the
tendency of abandonment of the blind children from their parents in 50% of the
cases. The interested, mention as causes of abandonment the difficult economic
conditions, lack of institutional support to the families, and also the
traditional mentality that the handicap is an object of shame for the members of
the family. This mentality and also the disbelief of the parents in the
possibility of change, development or integration has made it possible for a
number of blind people in Albania, especially in rural areas, to remain
uneducated.

Children, young
people or other age groups are entitled to live in a way that gives them
self-confidence and possibility for an active life in society. They should
receive technical assistance, moral support and the necessary education. The
“sick” person in the Albanian families has always been under the custody of the
others, but his status always remained the status of “the sick person”,
entirely dependant on the family circle, which surrounds him/her, and in most
cases isolated from the other part of the world. “The social role” the sick
person gains, is in itself an attribute that gives secondary benefits, (he/she
absorbs care and consideration) being at the same time excluded from the
requirements of “his/her role”, which he/she would carry out in normal
circumstances.

It is often said that
the attitude towards the individuals with limited abilities reflects the level
of civilization and tolerance of a society. From the institutional viewpoint of
the problem, the analysis offers these data:

Until 1994, the
majority of the institutions for the incapable were depending on The Ministry
of Health. Later The Ministry of Labor and Social Issues took over their
administration. The change was positive, because it implied the transition from
a mere medical method under care oriented to the social and educational aspect,
giving a stronger emphasis to the relationships between the incapable and their
families. Nonetheless, the coordination between the two responsible ministries
has been inconsiderable. Public services regarding the incapable children are
limited to a small number of institutions situated primarily in urban areas and
with economic benefits from the departments of social help in towns. Even
though state institutions and centers for these children have been supported by
international organizations, still the capacity to fulfill the needs of this
social group is limited. This is observed not only in the large number of the
beneficents (with no source at all in rural areas), but also as far as the
factor of age, underestimated by the state, is concerned. There exists the
great need for structures that can make early diagnosis and deal with family
interferences. Due to this situation, it is the family, which should care
first, with all the difficulties and insufficiencies in professional
counseling.

The history
of developed countries shows that the pressure of public opinion, already made
aware of the need for legislation drafting in help to this category, is an
important factor to enable the protection of the rights of the individuals with
limited abilities.

But which is the
actual social status of the visually impaired individuals in present day
Albanian society?

For the
category of the blind in Albania, this has been
made concrete with the draft of Law No. 8098, dated March 28, 1996 “On the
status of the blind” and also with Resolution No.277, dated June 18, 1997 “On
the benefits from the status of the blind”.

Drafting the
respective laws constitutes but the first important step. But as much
important, or even more important, is also their implementation into practice,
which sometimes comes up against versatile difficulties. So, the Resolution of
the Council of Ministers, No.277, dated June 18, 1997, prescribes the amount of
blindness payment and also custody payment for the blind. However, in its
implementation into practice, cases of transgression are noticed. So, for
example, for two blind children of the same family, who possess the medical
report, MLCILA (Medico-Legal Commission for Individuals with Limited Abilities)
has also defined the level of the first group of blindness. Meanwhile, both
children are given the blindness payment, but only one of them is acknowledged
the right to receive the custody payment, allowing in this way a completely
subjective interpretation of the law.

The majority
of the cases of transgression of the rights of individuals with limited
abilities are observed especially in everyday life, particularly in the sector
of urban, interurban transport, public services, etc.

The care for
the individuals with limited abilities constitutes a moral and important norm,
which should be carried out by the entire society.

Despite the sometime
contradictory data, it should be accepted that present day Albanian society is
made aware of the conditions of the individuals with limited abilities and of
the fulfillment of the rights that belong to them. Expression of this awareness
is also the revival of the activities of the Albanian and foreign NGOs,
especially after 1990s, with applications of programs and successful projects
for the integration of the children with special needs into the system of
public schools, and also as a new alternative with profitable advantages. In
this process, which of course is not easy, there now exists an experience, even
though minimal. This is confirmed, among others, by the results of a study
generated recently from AFRH (Albanian Foundation for the Rights of the
Handicapped) in cooperation with ED (Educational Directories) in several
schools of Tirana and Durresi concerning the problem of whole-inclusive
education.

In the answers of the
teachers of these common schools, the majority of whom have had the chance to
work with students of limited abilities of different types, 75% of them, look
at these children as individuals that should be respected, that should be
trained with attention and special care and that should be kept close. 40% of
them accept integration in their common schools, which shows that the mentality
of common schools’ teachers has started to change in a positive sense.

Nonetheless,
even though the teachers of common schools accept this in principle, they tend
to hesitate to carry it out in practice. They introduce a range of causes that
oblige them to hesitate and list a range of proposals for concrete changes in
school, so that the teachers are successful and the students feel good. Among
the supportive factors, 90% of the teachers list family and parents’ role. In
the data of the study of 80 concrete cases of students with limited abilities,
integrated in elementary education of the common schools, it is emphasized that
they do not constitute a problem for the school, and that their behaviors
change in a positive sense during the four years of school. This is owing to
the measures that school itself has undertaken. Still, many students of common
schools express themselves that they find the presence of children with limited
abilities in classes, problematic. About 80% of them think that society should
feel responsible and should create facilities for them.

In the
parents’ questionnaires regarding the children with limited abilities, who
actually attend these schools, we observe that 87% of them want these children
to pursue common schools, suggesting also the need to make changes. All parents
think that their solution has been proper. Children with limited abilities
themselves, in 80% of the cases, express themselves that they would like to
attend schools together with their peers without problems and that they feel
good close to them. Still, about 32% of the administrative personnel
interviewed, think that the conditions are not yet ripe for the integration of
children with limited abilities into normal schools and that harder work is
expected on this.

It is
obvious that the results of this study, regarding blind students, are only
partially worth it, mostly just to confirm to the social opinion, because as it
is known, the category of the completely blind students finds the integration
into common schools almost impossible. It is
different the work with visually impaired children. This opportunity is not
excluded to them, in addition, the Normative Provisions on special education in
Albania, different from other special schools, predict almost complete
coherence in structure, content, and procedures of this institution with other
common schools, homologous with public compulsory education. Furthermore, in
these Provisions, the integration of the children with limited abilities with
the students of ordinary schools is treated as an ordinary, contemporary
process that should be carried out in the special schools themselves, not only
within the teaching-educational process, but also outside it. This practice
coincides with present day socio-pedagogical (interactive pedagogy) tendency,
which emphasizes especially the need to provide with a whole-inclusive
education for the students with special needs, for their inclusion in common
classrooms and schools, providing a flexible solution to constantly promote
their progress in classes and their individual development.

Indeed, these recent
years, concerning whole-inclusive education, all Albanian opinion, public and
official, is being made aware, day by day, to transit from sporadic practices
to actions legally supported. The current legislation enables all the necessary
openings for a more spacious breathing, because it should be improved and
enriched with instruments, which strongly support the activity for the
education of the students with special needs and also their integration in
society.

Time has come to shed
some light onto the school practice regarding the important principle of
differentiation in the learning of students with problems in special classrooms
of common schools and in special schools, taking into consideration the
distinctions in their needs, interests and wishes. This has started with the
preparation of a new curriculum, where alongside the memorandum and emphasis of
purposes and common requirements for students of a specific age, flexible and
whole-inclusive solutions are also made possible. The new curriculum, also
considers the students with special needs, where the students with visual
impairment are included. On this basis, the draft of special plans should be
worked for, up to working plans for individual education, to develop
self-confidence and self-assessment in the blind people. Such an aim requires,
among others, the functioning of the continual qualification system of the
teachers and also the introduction of a curriculum for special education in the
teaching department, to complete the shaping of the future teachers for the
education of the students with special needs.

Following
the example of the more developed countries, the Albanian society, too, is not
hesitating to face the process of whole-inclusion, which constitutes one of our
present day challenges. In this process, teachers and students of the Institute
of the Visually Impaired Students in Tirana, find themselves included. We can
affirm that even here, possibilities are already created that for certain
subjects, visually impaired students develop their classes with students of
public 8th grade schools, establishing thus, mutual cooperative
connections. The cultural-artistic activities, organized with common programs
with students of common schools in Tirana, the participation of blind students
in different national and international activities, give evidence for the
potentiality this category carries within themselves and also for their
exceptional will to challenge the results of misfortune, to break the
frameworks of darkness.

Blind
students have a very well developed personality and a high level of
sensibility. Unknowingness of psychological features of this category of
students, of contemporary methods of techniques of orientation, development of
touching and speaking in the everyday work, infringes to a great extent the
effectiveness of teaching-educational work inside school and outside it.

Integration
should not be understood as a formal concept, but as a practical possibility
with high applicative values. Planting of a seedling or flower in the school
garden, the care for its growth, the interest for environmental maintenance,
the realization of an activity with artistic or applicative character,
strengthen the connective strands with the real world, integrate the blind into
life, promote his/her courage and confidence, make him/her more independent.

Blind
children don’t need mercy, but kindness and support inspired by humane
feelings. Mercy hurts them spiritually, results into their closing up in
themselves, decreasing their opportunity for integration in everyday life.

The
worsening condition of infrastructure in our country and the density of traffic
have complicated even more the independence of orientation of the blind outside
familiar environments or institutions, where they are taught and educated. In
these conditions, special value and importance is attributed to the companion,
which should be qualified in order to increase sensibility and possibility of
orientation of the appointed person. This should be accomplished by means of
drafting of special programs for the training of companions from the centers of
rehabilitation and also from other special institutions.

Children and
other individuals with physical and mental limited abilities are undeniably
entitled to require from society continual improvement of the respective
legislation and fulfillment of their human, material and spiritual needs, not
to feel alienated but maximally integrated. From this point of view, the
continual improvement of the social status of the individuals with limited
abilities and the further accurateness of the existing legislation, bearing
also in mind the experience of developed countries, constitutes a very
important aspect which influences in a very straightforward way all the process
of teaching-educational work with visually impaired students.